0
I had been considering a communication set for quite some time now. After reading many reviews, there are two that seemed to rise to the top: The Cardo-Systems units, and the Sena units. I wanted a "budget" set, that would allow me to communicate both with my passenger on my V-Strom, and also with another vehicle, as we ride ATV's often. Range was not a big issue, nor was any amount of features such as phone or music.
I had been reading about the newest Sena SMH-10R, which has the most features, the longest range, and the longest lasting battery and stand-by time. They run about $165 per set ($330 per pair), which was more than I wanted to spend, so I chose the low end SMH-5. I bought the SMH-5's for $189 for a two head set package, from Motorcycle Super Store.
The units mounted up easily, although running the speakers in my wife's HJC helmet required that I make 2 small slits in the liner - no big deal to me. The speakers and the mic mounted up easily in my AFX dual-sport helmet, although the mouthguard had no fabric lining for the Velcro backed mic to stick to. A small piece of duct tape stuck it in place nicely.
The units charged up in a couple of hours, off of my computers USB ports, and I bought a USB wall charger later. While they were plugged in, I took the opportunity to download the newest software upgrade from Sena. Since I had not used them previously, I have no idea what changes were made. I do know that they charged up, and paired up just fine, though.
The Sena units are pretty simple to operate. They have an audible voice that tells you that they are powering on or off, or pairing. I should mention that I have zero Bluetooth knowledge, so I was a bit nervous about getting these units, but all of that worry was for naught.
Reviews of these units have mentioned that the speakers are "tinny", but at over 50 years old, everything pretty much sounds tinny to me. We are not (yet) using these for music, so the sound quality is fine. The volume control works well, and I can hear very well at any speed. Range on the road seems to be close to the advertised range - 300-400 yards. In the woods, the range is a bit less, maybe 100-150 yards, but it seems to be just enough for our purposes.
I must be honest and say that I have spent very little time reading the "Quick-start" instruction manual (the only manual included with the system - A full manual can be downloaded off of the Sena site), and I was a bit frustrated that it seemed that I had to pair the units every time I turned them on, but I stumbled upon the proper way to turn them on, and just hit one button and they were immediately paired.
My wife and I used the Sena units for a late night ATV ride that took us from 7 PM well past midnight, and they never faded or shut down. That is impressive. During this ride, my wife, who was a doubter about the whole communication thing, was completely turned around and is now solidly endorsing the SMH-5. They really complete the riding experience, as well as enhance the safety factor ("Watch out for that big rock!").
Overall - The Sena SMH-5 works very well, and I am very happy with them, but if I had to buy again, I might consider paying another $100+ to get more range. Perhaps, if I decided that I wanted to stream music or my phone to my head to completely ruin my ride, the fancier units might even be more appealing, but for now, the SMH-5 does the job quite well.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by loki32687
